My brother and I started snowboarding this season and the last few trips, we've been trying to carve. The biggest problem for both us is transitioning edge to edge smoothly without skidding. Any advice on how we can improve on carving would be greatly appreciated. I'm in the black/white jacket and my brother, who is a little more experienced, is in the blue/orange jacket.

I've been meaning to ask this question, and I think our issues may be related, so I'll ask it here.

My problem is my carve line shape. I've always heard its supposed to look like the tracks pictured on the left, however mine always look like the tracks pictured on the right. I know the gap in my carve tracks is when I transition from edge to edge. Is this normal? Is there anyway I can get my tracks looking like an unbroken "S" pattern?

Lastly, you both are making very open ended turns and are not completing the turns and are not making the edge change with the board across the fall line.

Make the edge change while the board is across the fall line. Yes, you do transfer from the uphill edge right onto the down hill edge and it will be scary as shit the first few time you do it so be ready. When you ride that downhill edge through the carved turn, you will accelerate through the turn but try not to loose your nerve and skid to bleed off speed. Stay with it and let that board get across the fall line, trusting that it will slow down because it will.

Now, a word about these quick, committed full edge changes and doing them across the fall line. It will seem totally against everything you have learned and know to be true up to this point. Consider this. The board does not know or care which direction it is pointed. It only cares that it is traveling in straight line nose to tail with no skid or sideslip. When that is occurring, you can change edges back and forth safely without fear of catching your downhill edge. Just be damn sure that you have not allowed the board to skid or slip down the hill. Hesitation in the carve will allow the board to skid or slip. This is why to properly and safely carve, you have to make fully committed edge changes without hesitation.

Is it best to dive right in to the edge change while across the fall line, or start with the open ended S turns and then move on to changing across the fall line?

Thanks for the detailed explanation. You're definitely right about us not being able to slow down and are skidding to reduce speed; will have to try and let the board cross the fall line like you said in an easier terrain.

The way I learned how to carve was kind of more intuitive. I had teachers tell me to do this with my body, this with my legs, this with my butt, this with my hair, but I was never really told what a true carve was. What my board was supposed to feel like when in a carve?

In a proper carve, you're shifting from edge to edge and don't lose much speed. You're essentially riding your edge instead of scraping the snow. You'll still displace snow so when you're going quick, you still get a cool spray.

I basically stopped scraping my edges through the snow, and more of riding the edge and pushing just hard enough not to "scrape" the snow. I liken it to driving where your carve is when you have tire grip, and when you scrape is when you lose traction. My legs pushing is like the throttle. Push hard enough so you get that nice S line and remain in control (grip), but not too hard that you scrape the snow and dump speed (no traction!).